Automatic switch-operating mechanism.



P. c. RALPH L W. PINCE. AUTOMATIC SWITCH OPERATING MEGHANISM.

APPLIOATION FILD HAY 1.1909.

' Patented May 2, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

| 1 :Balto .5; @aww I (fo 'fa' P C RALPH & W PINGE AUTOMATIC SWITGHOPBRAHNG MBGHANISM.

APPLIOATIO FILED MAY 1,1'909.

Patented May 2, 1911.

2 SHEETB-SHBET Z.

Mfneses:

aaron.

PERCY C. RALPH NIE VJILLIAM PNCH, GF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

.AUTMTC SW'CTLQFERATING MECHANISM.

To o!! who/m, 'it may concern:

'ile it known' that we. Pianos' C. RALPH and Wimmer liNeil, citizens of the United tltates of i'nerica, and residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented ce1 tain new and usetui improvements in Automatic ibvitclr sJperating Mechanism; and 'we do hereby decl'arc the following tothe a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it ertains to make'and use the same.

his invention relates to improvements in automatic switch operating mechanism and particularly adapted for use with photographic printing machines for timing the length of exposures.

The object of the invention is to provide a machine of the character referred to which is simple in construction, automatic in op- A eration, and Which will give an exposure dependent upon and inversely proportionalto the strength ofthe light.

Generally speaking the invention may be defined as consisting of the combinations of elements embodied in4 the claims hereto annexed and illustrated, in one embodiment,.

'the front of the machine. Fig. 4 is a section on line %4, Fig. 2. Fig. is a detail View, mostly in section, of the connections between the conducting rings and the terminals of the electro-magnet 14..

In carrying out the invention, the essential 'parts of the n'lachine are mounted in any convenient form of cabinet, buty this is omitted from the drawings for clearncss of illustration. Describing the parts by 'reference characters, 1 denotes a bed plate, preferably of insulating material, on which the various parts of the 'apparatus are supported. This bed plate isprovided with suitable standards 2, 3, ltand 5, for a purpose to `be described hereinafter, and with an upwardly projecting casing' (i upon which vthere is mounted an electric motor 7 of any approved. construction, said motor being pro` Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 1,

Patented May 2, 19M i..

was. semi No. 493,2?5.

vided with a worm 'shaft 8l and meshing with a Worm gear t) on a shaft l() supported by the standards 3 and '11. For convenience of description, that' cud of the apj'iaratus on which the motor T is mounted will be referred to hereinafter as the rear ""1 Fig; 5, it will. be seen that the terminals of the electro-magnet 14 are led to the rings 16 `and 17 in such a manner as to permit the rotation of said rings and of the electro- 4magnet 4Without any interference between 'said terminals and the brushes. In front Iofthe electro-magnet is an armature 20, Whichis rigidly mounted upon a non-conducting sleeve 21 loose upon the shaft 13. The armature is provided with a plurality' of rearwardly projecting buttons or spacers 22 ot non-'conducting material, which prevent the armature from freezing to the magnet. 'A coil spring Q3 is connected at one end to the armature 2() as by means of a stud 24, and has its other end connected to some' fixed part of the apparatus, for instance the standard 2. as shown at 25.v ln front of the standard Q, the sleeve 21 has mounted thereon a conducting ring Q6 against the surface of which aspring finger 2T bears. said finger being ,carried by the forwardly projecting contact member 28. rfhis conducting ring is loosely mounted on the sleeve 21 being secured against rotation thereon to standard 2, shown at" 2G.

ln front; of tho contact finger 28 is a dia Q9, carried by the Vlront ol the base-plate l. This dial. as will appear from Fig. y3, is provided with a series ol equally spaced numerals and with an indicating 'finger 3() which is rotatably mounted on .said dial and which 'co-acts with the numerals Vin a manner to be explained hereinafter.

3l. denotes a contact finger which is mounted outhe rear sidev o' the dial. ln-

dieating member 3() -and contact. finger ill are connected so as to move m unison. For the purpose oit' securlng such connection and to insulate these members from each other.) member 3l may be provided with a sha'tt S2 extendingthroi'igh an insulatirwbuslliiw' in the dial 2). it its trr end t1 sha tt shown as threaded into a suit-ahh'x piece of insulatingmaterial 3ftin the hub B5 on which the indicating linger Si) is umunted.

Sti denotes a ring' oli eoiuhurtineh material mounted on the dial 29 and adagted to be engaged by oppositelv extending 'springs 3T carried b v the hub ot the Contact; linger 3l.

53S. denotes a easing which may be applied to the lamps 39. these lamps being the actinie lamps that are provided Yfor printing' pur poses and being referred to hereinafter as the printing lamps. Any suitable num-- ber ot these lamps will be employed. The 3S will be provided With an opening l0 on which the negative is placed when printed.

4Q denotes a lamp hav-ing an ora ige or. red `shade. This lamp may be made use or for the purpose of centering the sensitized paper or other material employed in printin and will be referred to hereinafter as the inspe/tion lamp.

'Vith the apparatus thus :tar lescribed, l employ electric circuits :tor automatically energizing the printing lamps 39, for placing in operation the motor and the shaft- 13 with its appurtenances, and for automatically suspending the operation or" said lamps, ino- 'tor and shaft after subjecting the negative 'and sensitized material to a predetermined contacts 45 and if? it will he broken between contacts 4C and 4S, and vice versa. ll'or eif- :tecting Athis result and For the. purpose ot" accomplishing` other result to be pointed out lnereinaliter. l employ a prrr of solenoids t9 and tlhaving a common core This co is provided 'with an extension which tits be tween contactsl 45 and et?, and flo and' t3 This extension consists of an insulating" rod 52 carried by the core 5l and having at one end thereof a circuit-closine seo-ment and s the circuit between the contact memand l? and Wl n the core 5l is ae the limit ol1 its movementU the circuit egn'nent 54; is interposed between kcontacts flo 'and Lt6 and closes the circuit minal TO of" the motor by Wires 56 and.

56 and one terminal ot the inspection lamp by Wire 5h@A To the other terminals of the printing lamps 39 is connected a Wire 56C which branches, a part 56d going to theV terminal 7l of the motor and a part 59 going to the Contact 19. A Wire connected to the ring 35 and to the Contact point ett?. Wire 61a extends from the contact "i8 tothe wire Gl. A wire GQ extends from the ring 26 to the other 'terminal of the solenoid .30. rl. Wire 53 extends from the other terrnnal ot' the solenoid -l-) to the contact 47 and in this part ol the circuit is arranged a switch 30 which is normally held open by means of a spring (50. A wire d3 connects 'the other terminal of the inspection lamp with the contact t7 i "lilith the parts a tnged as described7 the' operation will be 'follows-the parts being' shown in the drawings in the position which tl occuj y previous to the wot l "Y operation. The neg'- .L `ed to its frame or eiwit-ized material `applied the; Lo` the operator closes the switch 555. Some of the current tioxving through the conductor et-S and the contacts 4:5 and 4l? is shunted throijtgh the solenoid 41S). This enerizes the solenoid and throws the core-5l lo me right, until stop engages the i l. his nettement oit the core iminei'iiateiy `rcuit through the lamp l2 and the circuit between the contacts 4th and rough the segment Current thm oWs through the conductor 43, contacts and 8, conductors {3l-and 6l to brush l5 then through the". Winding of the electroet l@ brush 19 and conductor 59, it is divided, part of the current: going to the motor 7 through branch 56d, brush Tl and brush TO and conductors 56 and 56 and part of the current flowing through branclr 56 to the lamps 39, thence through the conductor 56b to conductor 56 to L tlu The lamps 39 are illuminated and the motor 7 is driven. By means of the reduction in speed effected by Worm 8, Worin gear 9, pinion ll and gear l2, the shaft 13 is rotated slowly. This entizing ofthe electrosniagnet 14 causes the i. nature 2'() to turn with lsaid electro-magitt . net on the shaft 13, and through the sleeve 2 1 with which the armature is rigidly connected, and to rotate the contact inger 28. It will be understood that the indicating member 30 hasr been previously set to such position with reference to the numbers on the dial as will ycorrespond with the lightexposure' to be given other sensitized material. As soon as the contact finger 28 engages the contact finger 31, the circuit of the circuit-changer is closed through 43, 4'6, 4S, Gl, ring 3G, springs 87, finger C51, -nger 28, ring 2G, eonductr 62, solenoid 50, conductors iT and 56, back to L14. This at once energizes the solenoid and shifts the core to the position shown in Fig. 1, thereby breaking the circuit of the printing lamps89 atcontacts 46 and L18, immediately stopping the operation of vthe motor and the parts driven thereby and immediately illuminating the inspection lamp. The rotation of the armature 20 has however wound up the spring v23. s .soon as the magnet 14 is denergizedl by the breaking of the circuitin Vthe manner pist described, the sleeve 21- is free to rotate and the spring 23 restores the armature 20..

and contact finger 28 to initial or starting position.

vFrom the above description it will be apTv parent that, when the circuit, including the printing lamps 39, is established, the circuit including the inspection lamp 42 is broken, and vice versa. urtherrnore, as the speed of the motor 7 (and consequently the length of exposure) isdependent upon the amount oi' `cui^reiit supplied to the motor, it will be. apparent that my apparatus automaticallyl provides for' alonger or shorter exposure of the negative to the action of they printing lamp according as the current is weak or strong and .hence according as the said lamps are illuminated fully or incompletely.

It ivill bc apparent that the solenoids elf),

50, contacts 45, 48, and core 51 with seg-l ments 58, constitute an electric circuit making and breaking device whereby the printing circuit is broken siniultaneously with the closing of the inspection-lamp circuit and whereby the printing, motor and magnet circuits are automatically broken as soon as the circuit through solenoid 50 is closed by the engagement .of contact fingers 428 and 3l. Furtl'iermore, the motor 7. shaft i), with its self-adjustable tinge 28 and the adjustable contact finger 31 and the circuit including said contact fingers and the circuit-closing device constitute a timing device whereby the length of the exposure of the paper or other sensitized material to the action of the printing lamps may be determined.

the said circuit, a timing device driven by said motor, a second electric circuit, an 1n- Y terniined distance by themotor.

2.A In a photographic print1ng'machine,

,the combination of an electric circuit, a printing lamp therein, an electric motor in shunt with said circuit, ra shaft driven by said motor, an electro-'magnet on said shaft, an armature for said niagaiet, loosely mount- -ed on said shaft, a spring connected with said armature, a contactmember movable with said armature, an adjustable contact member with which vthe former contact member is adapted to engage, a circuiftbreaker lfor the lamp circuit, and a circuit including said circuit breaker and said contact members.

3. In .a photographic printing' machine, the combination of an electric circuit, a

shaft driven by said motor, an electro-inagnet on said shaft` an armature for said magdevice movable with said armature, an adjustable contact member with which the foi-nier contact member is adapted to engage, a circuit-breaker for the lamp circuit, a circuit including said circuit breaker and said contact. ineii'ihers, andmeans -t'or restoring the armature to initial position.

4. ln a photographic print-ing machine, the combination of an electric circuit, a printing'lamp therein, an electric inotoigva shaft driven' thereby, an electro-ii'iagnet mounted on said shaft, an electric circuit iiicluding said magnet, an adjustable contact member, an armature for said magnet loosely mounted on said shaft, a second contact member movable Witlrsaid armature and adapted to engage with the former contact member, a circuit breaking device, an electric circuit including said device and said Contact members and arranged to break the lamp, motor and magnet circuits when said contact members are in engagement. and means for restoring said armature and the second contact member to initial position.

5. In a photographic printing machine, the' combinationA of an electric circuit, a printing lamp therein, an electric motor, a shaft driven thereby, an electro-magnet mounted on said shaft, an electric circuit including said magnet, an adjustable contact device, an armature for said magnet loosely mounted onvsaid shaft,a second contact member movable With-said armature and adapted tovengage with the former contact member, a third electric circuit, an ii'ispec* tion lamp therein, a circuit making and breaking device, an electric circuit including speetion lamp therein, and' electrically op?,

netv loosely mounted on said shaft, a contactA printing lamp therein, an electric motor, a

" movable with said armature, e second' edsaid device and' said conta members and arranged to break the print n 'f iii-nip, motor and magnet circuits when said contact incinhcrs are in engagement and te close the in spection lump circuit, und ineens for te storing smid armature and the second con inet member to initizxi position. i

(3. In n photographic printing machine, the combination of nn electric circuit, a printingil lump ti'ierein.r a motora e ment.

7. In a photogranhic printing machine,

the combination of zin electric circuit, an inspection lamp therein, :i second electric circuit, e solenoid therein, e switch actuated by said solenoid and arranged t0 breek said inst-mentioned circuits and siniuitcneousij] close a third circuit e motor and printing lamp in said het-mentioned circuit, a shaft operatively connected with seid motor, on eiectrornegnet mounted on shaft, :in armature for said magnet loosely mounted on said shaft, a Contact nger rotatably shaft. driven therebyt in electro-magnet mounted justabie contact member with which the finger will engage when the inger' is ro tated by the motor, thus closing :l fourth circuit having a solenoid therein which oy its action restores the first circuitegoin and e coil spring for restoring said armature with attached contact member to initiei' position after seme has been rotated ioj/ the motor.

8. in a photographic pri tingniachinc. the combination withan cie-c rie circuit, en inspection lamp therein and in action when the machine is inactive, :i second electric circuit adapted to energize a' revolving magnet arranged in said circuit, the magnetism thereof to attract :i rotatable armature end cause smid armature to rotote with seid mognet, e motor for driving' seid magnet and n timing device comprising e iinger secured t0- said armature, a second finger edjnstehijv mounted in proximity to seid i'irst finger so that said first finger will Contact therewith when revolved by the armature a pointer se-- cured to said second mentioned :ind adapted to move therewith, a dini' arranged in proximity1 to'seid pointer and means for restoringT the armature and rstsn'ienticneri finger to their initiai positi when the motor circuit is broken Y Signed by ns at Cleveiand7 hio, this si day of August, 1908.

c. infin; i; Winch/tri ien-ieri.

Witnesses z Vieron C. LYNCH, it. L. Moionrzmn. 

